Search results for: project evaluation.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3310

Search results for: project evaluation.

2680 Educational Knowledge Transfer in Indigenous Mexican Areas Using Cloud Computing

Authors: L. R. Valencia Pérez, J. M. Peña Aguilar, A. Lamadrid Álvarez, A. Pastrana Palma, H. F. Valencia Pérez, M. Vivanco Vargas

Abstract:

This work proposes a Cooperation-Competitive (Coopetitive) approach that allows coordinated work among the Secretary of Public Education (SEP), the Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ) and government funds from National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) or some other international organizations. To work on an overall knowledge transfer strategy with e-learning over the Cloud, where experts in junior high and high school education, working in multidisciplinary teams, perform analysis, evaluation, design, production, validation and knowledge transfer at large scale using a Cloud Computing platform. Allowing teachers and students to have all the information required to ensure a homologated nationally knowledge of topics such as mathematics, statistics, chemistry, history, ethics, civism, etc. This work will start with a pilot test in Spanish and initially in two regional dialects Otomí and Náhuatl. Otomí has more than 285,000 speaking indigenes in Queretaro and Mexico´s central region. Náhuatl is number one indigenous dialect spoken in Mexico with more than 1,550,000 indigenes. The phase one of the project takes into account negotiations with indigenous tribes from different regions, and the Information and Communication technologies to deliver the knowledge to the indigenous schools in their native dialect. The methodology includes the following main milestones: Identification of the indigenous areas where Otomí and Náhuatl are the spoken dialects, research with the SEP the location of actual indigenous schools, analysis and inventory or current schools conditions, negotiation with tribe chiefs, analysis of the technological communication requirements to reach the indigenous communities, identification and inventory of local teachers technology knowledge, selection of a pilot topic, analysis of actual student competence with traditional education system, identification of local translators, design of the e-learning platform, design of the multimedia resources and storage strategy for “Cloud Computing”, translation of the topic to both dialects, Indigenous teachers training, pilot test, course release, project follow up, analysis of student requirements for the new technological platform, definition of a new and improved proposal with greater reach in topics and regions. Importance of phase one of the project is multiple, it includes the proposal of a working technological scheme, focusing in the cultural impact in Mexico so that indigenous tribes can improve their knowledge about new forms of crop improvement, home storage technologies, proven home remedies for common diseases, ways of preparing foods containing major nutrients, disclose strengths and weaknesses of each region, communicating through cloud computing platforms offering regional products and opening communication spaces for inter-indigenous cultural exchange.

Keywords: Mexicans indigenous tribes, education, knowledge transfer, cloud computing, Otomí, Náhuatl, language.

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2679 An Economical Operation Analysis Optimization Model for Heavy Equipment Selection

Authors: A. Jrade, N. Markiz, N. Albelwi

Abstract:

Optimizing equipment selection in heavy earthwork operations is a critical key in the success of any construction project. The objective of this research incentive was geared towards developing a computer model to assist contractors and construction managers in estimating the cost of heavy earthwork operations. Economical operation analysis was conducted for an equipment fleet taking into consideration the owning and operating costs involved in earthwork operations. The model is being developed in a Microsoft environment and is capable of being integrated with other estimating and optimization models. In this study, Caterpillar® Performance Handbook [5] was the main resource used to obtain specifications of selected equipment. The implementation of the model shall give optimum selection of equipment fleet not only based on cost effectiveness but also in terms of versatility. To validate the model, a case study of an actual dam construction project was selected to quantify its degree of accuracy.

Keywords: Operation analysis, optimization model, equipment economics, equipment selection.

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2678 Empirical Evaluation of Performance Optimization Techniques Used in Mobile Applications

Authors: Nathar Shah, Bu Kiat Seng

Abstract:

Mobile application development is different from regular application development due to the hardware resource limitations existed in the mobile platforms. In the mobile environment, the application needs to be optimized by the developer to produce optimal software with least overhead. This study discussed about performance optimization techniques that are employed in general application development, and how such techniques are performing on mobile platforms through some empirical evaluations on a mobile emulator, Nokia X3-02 and Nokia C5-03devices. The scope of the work is only confined to mobile platform based on Java Mobile edition architecture. The empirical results showed that techniques such as loop unrolling, dependency chain, and linearized getter and setter performed better by a factor of 3 to 7. Whereas declaration and initialization on the same line or separate line did not improve the performance.

Keywords: Optimization Techniques, Mobile Applications, Performance Evaluation, J2ME, Empirical Experiments

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2677 Threats and Preventive Methods to Avoid Bird Strikes at the Deblin Military Airfield, Poland

Authors: J. Cwiklak, M. Grzegorzewski, M. Adamski

Abstract:

The paper presents results of the project conducted in Poland devoted to study on bird strikes at military airfields. The main aim of this project was to develop methods of aircraft protection against threats from birds. The studies were carried out using two methods. One by transect and the other one by selected sector scanning. During the research, it was recorded, that 104 species of birds in the number about of 36000 were observed. The most frequent ones were starling Sturnus vulgaris (31.0%), jackdaw Corvus monedula (18.3%), rook Corvus frugilegus (15.9 %), lapwing Vanellus vanellus (6.2%). Moreover, it was found, that starlings constituted the most serious threat. It resulted from their relatively high attendance at the runway (about 300 individuals). Possible repellent techniques concerning of the Deblin military airfield were discussed. The analysis of the birds’ concentration depending on the altitude, part of the day, year, part of the airfield constituted a base to work out critical flight phase and appropriate procedures to prevent bird strikes.

Keywords: Airport, bird strikes, flight safety, preventive methods.

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2676 Structural Transformation after 2000 in Turkey Economy Evaluation as Theoretical in the Context of Inflation and Foreign Trade

Authors: Sadife Güngör, Sevilay Konya, Zeynep Karaçor

Abstract:

Inflation and foreign trade are the most important economic indicator of a country. In this study, Turkey's economy with the policies adopted after 2000, given how performs an economic transformation. This transformation of the economy is discussed with inflation and foreign trade. In this context, attention is drawn to 2001 Strong Economy and Transition Program and 2006 Inflation Targeting Regime. The evaluation was performed of after the year 2000 inflation and foreign trade figures in Turkey economy. When we looked the progress, after 2000 in Turkey economy, we can say a new process was built up.

Keywords: Inflation, foreign trade, 2001 strong economy program, 2006 ınflation targeting regime.

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2675 A Model for the Characterization and Selection of Beeswaxes for use as base Substitute Tissue in Photon Teletherapy

Authors: R.M.V. Silva, D.N. Souza

Abstract:

This paper presents a model for the characterization and selection of beeswaxes for use as base substitute tissue for the manufacture of objects suitable for external radiotherapy using megavoltage photon beams. The model of characterization was divided into three distinct stages: 1) verification of aspects related to the origin of the beeswax, the bee species, the flora in the vicinity of the beehives and procedures to detect adulterations; 2) evaluation of physical and chemical properties; and 3) evaluation of beam attenuation capacity. The chemical composition of the beeswax evaluated in this study was similar to other simulators commonly used in radiotherapy. The behavior of the mass attenuation coefficient in the radiotherapy energy range was comparable to other simulators. The proposed model is efficient and enables convenient assessment of the use of any particular beeswax as a base substitute tissue for radiotherapy.

Keywords: Beeswaxes, characterization, model, radiotherapy

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2674 Application of UAS in Forest Firefighting for Detecting Ignitions and 3D Fuel Volume Estimation

Authors: Artur Krukowski, Emmanouela Vogiatzaki

Abstract:

The article presents results from the AF3 project “Advanced Forest Fire Fighting” focused on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)-based 3D surveillance and 3D area mapping using high-resolution photogrammetric methods from multispectral imaging, also taking advantage of the 3D scanning techniques from the SCAN4RECO project. We also present a proprietary embedded sensor system used for the detection of fire ignitions in the forest using near-infrared based scanner with weight and form factors allowing it to be easily deployed on standard commercial micro-UAVs, such as DJI Inspire or Mavic. Results from real-life pilot trials in Greece, Spain, and Israel demonstrated added-value in the use of UAS for precise and reliable detection of forest fires, as well as high-resolution 3D aerial modeling for accurate quantification of human resources and equipment required for firefighting.

Keywords: Forest wildfires, fuel volume estimation, 3D modeling, UAV, surveillance, firefighting, ignition detectors.

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2673 Proposal for Cost Calculation of Warehouse Processes and Its Usage for Setting Standards for Performance Evaluation

Authors: Tomas Cechura, Michal Simon

Abstract:

This paper describes a proposal for cost calculation of warehouse processes and its usage for setting standards for performance evaluation. One of the most common options of monitoring process performance is benchmarking. The typical outcome is whether the monitored object is better or worse than an average or standard. Traditional approaches, however, cannot find any specific opportunities to improve performance or eliminate inefficiencies in processes. Higher process efficiency can be achieved for example by cost reduction assuming that the same output is generated. However, costs can be reduced only if we know their structure and we are able to calculate them accurately. In the warehouse process area it is rather difficult because in most cases we have available only aggregated values with low explanatory ability. The aim of this paper is to create a suitable method for calculating the storage costs. At the end is shown a practical example of process calculation.

Keywords: Calculation, Costs, Performance, Process, Warehouse.

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2672 A Systematic Method for Performance Analysis of SOA Applications

Authors: Marzieh Asgarnezhad, Ramin Nasiri, Abdollah Shahidi

Abstract:

The successful implementation of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is not confined to Information Technology systems and required changes of the whole enterprise. In order to adapt IT and business, the enterprise requires adequate and measurable methods. The adoption of SOA creates new problem with regard to measuring and analysis the performance. In fact the enterprise should investigate to what extent the development of services will increase the value of business. It is required for every business to measure the extent of SOA adaptation with the goals of enterprise. Moreover, precise performance metrics and their combination with the advanced evaluation methodologies as a solution should be defined. The aim of this paper is to present a systematic methodology for designing a measurement system at the technical and business levels, so that: (1) it will determine measurement metrics precisely (2) the results will be analysed by mapping identified metrics to the measurement tools.

Keywords: Service-oriented architecture, metrics, performance, evaluation.

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2671 Evaluation of Performance Requirements for Seismic Design of Piping System

Authors: Bu Seog Ju, Woo Young Jung

Abstract:

The cost of damage to the non-structural systems in critical facilities like nuclear power plants and hospitals can exceed 80% of the total cost of damage during an earthquake. The failure of nonstructural components, especially, piping systems led to leakage of water and subsequent shut-down of hospitals immediately after the event. Consequently, the evaluation of performance of these types of structural configurations has become necessary to mitigate the risk and to achieve reliable designs. This paper focuses on a methodology to evaluate the static and dynamic characteristics of complex actual piping system based on NFPA-13 and SMACNA guidelines. The result of this study revealed that current piping system subjected to design lateral force and design spectrum based on UBC-97 was failed in both cases and mode shapes between piping system and building structure were very different

Keywords: Nonstructural component, piping, hospital, seismic, bracing.

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2670 Analysis and Evaluation of the Public Responses to Traffic Congestion Pricing Schemes in Urban Streets

Authors: Saeed Sayyad Hagh Shomar

Abstract:

Traffic congestion pricing in urban streets is one of the most suitable options for solving the traffic problems and environment pollutions in the cities of the country. Unlike its acceptable outcomes, there are problems concerning the necessity to pay by the mass. Regarding the fact that public response in order to succeed in this strategy is so influential, studying their response and behavior to get the feedback and improve the strategies is of great importance. In this study, a questionnaire was used to examine the public reactions to the traffic congestion pricing schemes at the center of Tehran metropolis and the factors involved in people’s decision making in accepting or rejecting the congestion pricing schemes were assessed based on the data obtained from the questionnaire as well as the international experiences. Then, by analyzing and comparing the schemes, guidelines to reduce public objections to them are discussed. The results of reviewing and evaluating the public reactions show that all the pros and cons must be considered to guarantee the success of these projects. Consequently, with targeted public education and consciousness-raising advertisements, prior to initiating a scheme and ensuring the mechanism of the implementation after the start of the project, the initial opposition is reduced and, with the gradual emergence of the real and tangible benefits of its implementation, users’ satisfaction will increase.

Keywords: Demand management, international experiences, traffic congestion pricing, public acceptance, public objection.

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2669 Development of Active Learning Calculus Course for Biomedical Program

Authors: Mikhail Bouniaev

Abstract:

The paper reviews design and implementation of a Calculus Course required for the Biomedical Competency Based Program developed as a joint project between The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the University of Texas’ Institute for Transformational Learning, from the theoretical perspective as presented in scholarly work on active learning, formative assessment, and on-line teaching. Following a four stage curriculum development process (objective, content, delivery, and assessment), and theoretical recommendations that guarantee effectiveness and efficiency of assessment in active learning, we discuss the practical recommendations on how to incorporate a strong formative assessment component to address disciplines’ needs, and students’ major needs. In design and implementation of this project, we used Constructivism and Stage-by-Stage Development of Mental Actions Theory recommendations.

Keywords: Active learning, assessment, Calculus, cognitive demand, constructivism, mathematics, Stage-by-Stage Development of Mental Action Theory.

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2668 Slope Effect in Emission Evaluation to Assess Real Pollutant Factors

Authors: G. Meccariello, L. Della Ragione

Abstract:

The exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer and increases the risk of bladder cancer. Because air pollution in urban areas is mainly caused by transportation, it is necessary to evaluate pollutant exhaust emissions from vehicles during their realworld use. Nevertheless their evaluation and reduction is a key problem, especially in the cities, that account for more than 50% of world population. A particular attention was given to the slope variability along the streets during each journey performed by the instrumented vehicle. In this paper we dealt with the problem of describing a quantitatively approach for the reconstruction of GPS coordinates and altitude, in the context of correlation study between driving cycles / emission / geographical location, during an experimental campaign realized with some instrumented cars. Finally the slope analysis can be correlated to the emission and consumption values in a specific road position, and it could be evaluated its influence on their behaviour.

Keywords: Air pollution, Driving cycles, GPS signal, Slope, Emission factor, fuel consumption.

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2667 A Corporate Social Responsibility Project to Improve the Democratization of Scientific Education in Brazil

Authors: Denise Levy

Abstract:

Nuclear technology is part of our everyday life and its beneficial applications help to improve the quality of our lives. Nevertheless, in Brazil, most often the media and social networks tend to associate radiation to nuclear weapons and major accidents, and there is still great misunderstanding about the peaceful applications of nuclear science. The Educational Portal Radioatividades (Radioactivities) is a corporate social responsibility initiative that takes advantage of the growing impact of Internet to offer high quality scientific information for teachers and students throughout Brazil. This web-based initiative focusses on the positive applications of nuclear technology, presenting the several contributions of ionizing radiation in different contexts, such as nuclear medicine, agriculture techniques, food safety and electric power generation, proving nuclear technology as part of modern life and a must to improve the quality of our lifestyle. This educational project aims to contribute for democratization of scientific education and social inclusion, approaching society to scientific knowledge, promoting critical thinking and inspiring further reflections. The website offers a wide variety of ludic activities such as curiosities, interactive exercises and short courses. Moreover, teachers are offered free web-based material with full instructions to be developed in class. Since year 2013, the project has been developed and improved according to a comprehensive study about the realistic scenario of ICTs infrastructure in Brazilian schools and in full compliance with the best e-learning national and international recommendations.

Keywords: Information and communication technologies, nuclear technology, science communication, society and education.

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2666 Ballast Water Management Triad: Administration, Ship Owner and the Seafarer

Authors: Rajoo Balaji, Omar Yaakob

Abstract:

The Ballast Water Convention requires less than 5% of the world tonnage for ratification. Consequently, ships will have to comply with the requirements. Compliance evaluation and enforcement will become mandatory. Ship owners have to invest in treatment systems and shipboard personnel have to operate them and ensure compliance. The monitoring and enforcement will be the responsibilities of the Administrations. Herein, a review of the current status of the Ballast Water Management and the issues faced by these are projected. Issues range from efficacy and economics of the treatment systems to sampling and testing. Health issues of chemical systems, paucity of data for decision support etc., are other issues. It is emphasized that management of ballast water must be extended to ashore and sustainable solutions must be researched upon. An exemplar treatment system based on ship’s waste heat is also suggested.

Keywords: Ballast water management, Compliance evaluation, Compliance enforcement, Sustainability.

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2665 Virtual Conciliation in Colombia: Evaluation of Maturity Level within the Framework of E-Government

Authors: Jenny Paola Forero Pachón, Sonia Cristina Gamboa Sarmiento, Luis Carlos Gómez Flórez

Abstract:

The Colombian government has defined an e-government strategy to take advantage of Information Technologies (IT) in order to contribute to the building of a more efficient, transparent and participative State that provides better services to citizens and businesses. In this regard, the Justice sector is one of the government sectors where IT has generated more expectation considering that the country has a judicial processes backlog. This situation has led to the search for alternative forms of access to justice that speed up the process while providing a low cost for citizens. To this end, the Colombian government has authorized the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods (ADR), a remedy where disputes can be resolved more quickly compared to judicial processes while facilitating greater communication between the parties, without recourse to judicial authority. One of these methods is conciliation, which includes a special modality that takes advantage of IT for the development of itself known as virtual conciliation. With this option the conciliation is supported by information systems, applications or platforms and communications are provided through it. This paper evaluates the level of maturity in how the service of virtual conciliation is under the framework of this strategy. This evaluation is carried out considering Shahkooh's 5-phase model for e-government. As a result, it is evident that in the context of conciliation, maturity does not reach the necessary level in the model so that it can be considered as virtual conciliation; therefore, it is necessary to define strategies to maximize the potential of IT in this context.

Keywords: Alternative dispute resolution, e-government, evaluation of maturity, Shahkooh model, virtual conciliation.

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2664 Quality as an Approach to Organizational Change and Its Role in the Reorganization of Enterprises: Case of Four Moroccan Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Authors: A. Boudiaf

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and apprehend, through four case studies, the interest of the project of the implementation of the quality management system (QMS) at four Moroccan small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This project could generate significant organizational change to improve the functioning of the organization. In fact, quality is becoming a necessity in the current business world. It is considered to be a major component in companies’ competitive strategies. It should be noted that quality management is characterized by a set of methods and techniques that can be used to solve malfunctions and reorganize companies. It is useful to point out that the choice of the adoption of the quality approach could be influenced by the circumstances of the business context, it could also be derived from its strategic vision; this means that this choice can be characterized as either a strategic aspect or a reactive aspect. This would probably have a major impact on the functioning of the QMS and also on the perception of the quality issue by company managers and their employees.

Keywords: Business context, organizational change, quality, reorganization.

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2663 Digital Geomatics Trends for Production and Updating Topographic Map by Using Digital Generalization Procedures

Authors: O. Z. Jasim

Abstract:

An accuracy digital map must satisfy the users for two main requirements, first, map must be visually readable and second, all the map elements must be in a good representation. These two requirements hold especially true for map generalization which aims at simplifying the representation of cartographic data. Different scales of maps are very important for any decision in any maps with different scales such as master plan and all the infrastructures maps in civil engineering. Cartographer cannot project the data onto a piece of paper, but he has to worry about its readability. The map layout of any geodatabase is very important, this layout is help to read, analyze or extract information from the map. There are many principles and guidelines of generalization that can be find in the cartographic literature. A manual reduction method for generalization depends on experience of map maker and therefore produces incompatible results. Digital generalization, rooted from conventional cartography, has become an increasing concern in both Geographic Information System (GIS) and mapping fields. This project is intended to review the state of the art of the new technology and help to understand the needs and plans for the implementation of digital generalization capability as well as increase the knowledge of production topographic maps.

Keywords: Cartography, digital generalization, mapping, GIS.

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2662 Formalizing a Procedure for Generating Uncertain Resource Availability Assumptions Based On Real Time Logistic Data Capturing with Auto-ID Systems for Reactive Scheduling

Authors: Lars Laußat, Manfred Helmus, Kamil Szczesny, Markus König

Abstract:

As one result of the project “Reactive Construction Project Scheduling using Real Time Construction Logistic Data and Simulation”, a procedure for using data about uncertain resource availability assumptions in reactive scheduling processes has been developed. Prediction data about resource availability is generated in a formalized way using real-time monitoring data e.g. from auto-ID systems on the construction site and in the supply chains. The paper focusses on the formalization of the procedure for monitoring construction logistic processes, for the detection of disturbance and for generating of new and uncertain scheduling assumptions for the reactive resource constrained simulation procedure that is and will be further described in other papers.

Keywords: Auto-ID, Construction Logistic, Fuzzy, Monitoring, RFID, Scheduling.

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2661 Extension and Evaluation of Interface “2D-RIB“ for Impression-Based Retrieval

Authors: S. Kikuchi, Y. Hashimoto, T. Takayama, T. Ikeda, Y. Murata

Abstract:

Recently, lots of researchers are attracted to retrieving multimedia database by using some impression words and their values. Ikezoe-s research is one of the representatives and uses eight pairs of opposite impression words. We had modified its retrieval interface and proposed '2D-RIB'. In '2D-RIB', after a retrieval person selects a single basic music, the system visually shows some other music around the basic one along relative position. He/she can select one of them fitting to his/her intention, as a retrieval result. The purpose of this paper is to improve his/her satisfaction level to the retrieval result in 2D-RIB. One of our extensions is to define and introduce the following two measures: 'melody goodness' and 'general acceptance'. We implement them in different five combinations. According to an evaluation experiment, both of these two measures can contribute to the improvement. Another extension is three types of customization. We have implemented them and clarified which customization is effective.

Keywords: Multimedia database, impression-based retrieval, interface, satisfaction level.

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2660 Academic Staff Perceptions of the Value of the Elements of an Online Learning Environment

Authors: Stuart Palmer, Dale Holt

Abstract:

Based on 276 responses from academic staff in an evaluation of an online learning environment (OLE), this paper identifies those elements of the OLE that were most used and valued by staff, those elements of the OLE that staff most wanted to see improved, and those factors that most contributed to staff perceptions that the use of the OLE enhanced their teaching. The most used and valued elements were core functions, including accessing unit information, accessing lecture/tutorial/lab notes, and reading online discussions. The elements identified as most needing attention related to online assessment: submitting assignments, managing assessment items, and receiving feedback on assignments. Staff felt that using the OLE enhanced their teaching when they were satisfied that their students were able to access and use their learning materials, and when they were satisfied with the professional development they received and were confident with their ability to teach with the OLE.

Keywords: Academic staff, Distance education, Evaluation, Online learning environment.

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2659 Impact of Stressors on Turnover Intention: Examining the Role of Employee Well-Being

Authors: Tooba Qasim, Uzma Javed, Muhammad Safder Shafi

Abstract:

This study empirically examines the differentiating impact of challenge-hindrance stressors on turnover intention through job satisfaction in IT industry of Pakistan. Moreover, perceived job alternatives were tested as a moderator in the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. Primary data was collected from 186 randomly selected IT professionals, working in project-based IT organizations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Results indicated significant: (1) positive relationship between challenge stressors and job satisfaction, (2) negative relationship between hindrance stressors and job satisfaction, (3) negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention, (4) Job satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between challenge stressor and turnover intention, (5) Job satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between hindrance stressor and turnover intention. However, it was observed that perceived job alternatives do not have any moderating effect. Proper balancing of two stressors may help top management to increase the job satisfaction and reduce the turnover intention of IT professionals.

Keywords: Challenge Stressors, Hindrance Stressors, Job Satisfaction, Perceived Job Alternatives, Project-based organizations, Turnover Intention.

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2658 Design Improvement of Dental Implant-Based on Bone Remodelling

Authors: Solehuddin Shuib, Koay Boon Aik, Zainul Ahmad Rajion

Abstract:

There are many types of mechanical failure on the dental implant. In this project, the failure that needs to take into consideration is the bone resorption on the dental implant. Human bone has its ability to remodel after the implantation. As the dental implant is installed into the bone, the bone will detect and change the bone structure to achieve new biomechanical environment. This phenomenon is known as bone remodeling. The objective of the project is to improve the performance of dental implant by using different types of design. These designs are used to analyze and predict the failure of the dental implant by using finite element analysis (FEA) namely ANSYS. The bone is assumed to be fully attached to the implant or cement. Hence, results are then compared with other researchers. The results were presented in the form of Von Mises stress, normal stress, shear stress analysis, and displacement. The selected design will be analyzed further based on a theoretical calculation of bone remodeling on the dental implant. The results have shown that the design constructed passed the failure analysis. Therefore, the selected design is proven to have a stable performance at the recovery stage.

Keywords: Dental implant, FEA, bone remodeling, osseointegration.

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2657 An Evaluation Framework of Transportation Responsiveness: Case of Pattaya City

Authors: Wuttigrai Ngamsirijit, Yodmanee Tepanon

Abstract:

Transportation is one of the main activities related to creating value for the tourists. Transport management in tourism mainly focuses on managing transfer points and vehicle capacity. However, transport service level must also be ensured as it now relates to tourist-s experiences. This paper emphasizes on the responsiveness as one of key service performance measures. An evaluation framework is developed and illustarted by using the case of small bus service in Pattaya city. It can be seen as a great potential for the city to utilize the small bus transportation in order to meet the needs of more diverse group of passengers and to support the expansion of tourist areas. The framework integrates with service operations management, logistics, and tourism behavior perspectives. The findings from the investigation of existing small bus service are presented and preliminarily validate the usability of the framework.

Keywords: Responsiveness, Demand responsive transportation, Tourism, Logistics

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2656 Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance in Offshore Development Enterprises in Sri Lanka

Authors: Malinda G. Sirisena

Abstract:

The aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of software quality assurance approaches of Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations, and to propose a framework which could be used across all offshore software development organizations.

An empirical study was conducted using derived framework from popular software quality evaluation models. The research instrument employed was a questionnaire survey among thirty seven Sri Lankan registered offshore software development organizations.

The findings demonstrate a positive view of Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance – the stronger predictors of Stability, Installability, Correctness, Testability and Changeability. The present study’s recommendations indicate a need for much emphasis on software quality assurance for the Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations.

Keywords: Software Quality Assurance (SQA), Offshore Software Development, Quality Assurance Evaluation Models, Effectiveness of Quality Assurance.

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2655 A Green Design for Assembly Model for Integrated Design Evaluation and Assembly and Disassembly Sequence Planning

Authors: Yuan-Jye Tseng, Fang-Yu Yu, Feng-Yi Huang

Abstract:

A green design for assembly model is presented to integrate design evaluation and assembly and disassembly sequence planning by evaluating the three activities in one integrated model. For an assembled product, an assembly sequence planning model is required for assembling the product at the start of the product life cycle. A disassembly sequence planning model is needed for disassembling the product at the end. In a green product life cycle, it is important to plan how a product can be disassembled, reused, or recycled, before the product is actually assembled and produced. Given a product requirement, there may be several design alternative cases to design the same product. In the different design cases, the assembly and disassembly sequences for producing the product can be different. In this research, a new model is presented to concurrently evaluate the design and plan the assembly and disassembly sequences. First, the components are represented by using graph based models. Next, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) method with a new encoding scheme is developed. In the new PSO encoding scheme, a particle is represented by a position matrix defining an assembly sequence and a disassembly sequence. The assembly and disassembly sequences can be simultaneously planned with an objective of minimizing the total of assembly costs and disassembly costs. The test results show that the presented method is feasible and efficient for solving the integrated design evaluation and assembly and disassembly sequence planning problem. An example product is implemented and illustrated in this paper.

Keywords: green design, assembly and disassembly sequence planning, green design for assembly, particle swarm optimization.

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2654 A Centroid Ranking Approach Based Fuzzy MCDM Model

Authors: T. C. Chu, S.H. Wu

Abstract:

This paper suggests ranking alternatives under fuzzy MCDM (multiple criteria decision making) via an centroid based ranking approach, where criteria are classified to benefit qualitative, benefit quantitative and cost quantitative ones. The ratings of alternatives versus qualitative criteria and the importance weights of all criteria are assessed in linguistic values represented by fuzzy numbers. The membership function for the final fuzzy evaluation value of each alternative can be developed through α-cuts and interval arithmetic of fuzzy numbers. The distance between the original point and the relative centroid is applied to defuzzify the final fuzzy evaluation values in order to rank alternatives. Finally a numerical example demonstrates the computation procedure of the proposed model.

Keywords: Fuzzy MCDM, Criteria, Fuzzy number, Ranking, Relative centroid.

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2653 Intelligibility of Cued Speech in Video

Authors: P. Heribanová, J. Polec, S. Ondrušová, M. Hosťovecký

Abstract:

This paper discusses the cued speech recognition methods in videoconference. Cued speech is a specific gesture language that is used for communication between deaf people. We define the criteria for sentence intelligibility according to answers of testing subjects (deaf people). In our tests we use 30 sample videos coded by H.264 codec with various bit-rates and various speed of cued speech. Additionally, we define the criteria for consonant sign recognizability in single-handed finger alphabet (dactyl) analogically to acoustics. We use another 12 sample videos coded by H.264 codec with various bit-rates in four different video formats. To interpret the results we apply the standard scale for subjective video quality evaluation and the percentual evaluation of intelligibility as in acoustics. From the results we construct the minimum coded bit-rate recommendations for every spatial resolution.

Keywords: cued speech, inteligibility, logatom, video

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2652 Developing Online Bookstore to Facilitate Manual Process – UTP Case Study

Authors: Emelia Akashah P.A, Sharifah Nadiah S.A

Abstract:

Knowledge sharing enables the information or knowledge to be transmitted from one source to another. This paper demonstrates the needs of having the online book catalogue which can be used to facilitate disseminating information on textbook used in the university. This project is aimed to give access to the students and lecturers to the list of books in the bookstore and at the same time to allow book reviewing without having to visit the bookstore physically. Research is carried out according to the boundaries which accounts to current process of new book purchasing, current system used by the bookstore and current process the lecturers go through for reviewing textbooks. The questionnaire is used to gather the requirements and it is distributed to 100 students and 40 lecturers. This project has enabled the improvement of a manual process to be carried out automatically, through a web based platform. It is shown based on the user acceptance survey carried out that target groups found that this web service is feasible to be implemented in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), and they have shown positive signs of interest in utilizing it in the future.

Keywords: bookstore, knowledge sharing, online bookcatalogue, textbook

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2651 A Product Development for Green Logistics Model by Integrated Evaluation of Design and Manufacturing and Green Supply Chain

Authors: Yuan-Jye Tseng, Yen-Jung Wang

Abstract:

A product development for green logistics model using the fuzzy analytic network process method is presented for evaluating the relationships among the product design, the manufacturing activities, and the green supply chain. In the product development stage, there can be alternative ways to design the detailed components to satisfy the design concept and product requirement. In different design alternative cases, the manufacturing activities can be different. In addition, the manufacturing activities can affect the green supply chain of the components and product. In this research, a fuzzy analytic network process evaluation model is presented for evaluating the criteria in product design, manufacturing activities, and green supply chain. The comparison matrices for evaluating the criteria among the three groups are established. The total relational values between the three groups represent the relationships and effects. In application, the total relational values can be used to evaluate the design alternative cases for decision-making to select a suitable design case and the green supply chain. In this presentation, an example product is illustrated. It shows that the model is useful for integrated evaluation of design and manufacturing and green supply chain for the purpose of product development for green logistics.

Keywords: Supply chain management, green supply chain, product development for logistics, fuzzy analytic network process.

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